18 Christians in India Jailed, Fight False Charge of Five Years Ago. Widow among church members arrested over baseless accusation.
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Christians falsely charged with crimes related to an act of vandalism in central India five years ago spent five days in jail and are fighting the case anew after it mysteriously resurfaced, sources said. The 18 Christians, including a widow, in Chhattisgarh state’s Bhelwapal village, Sukma District, were jailed March 9-14 even though one of the traditional tribal animists who falsely accused them in 2017 has since become a Christian and has explained how they were framed. Tribal villagers who damaged a pastor’s house and church building in 2017 smashed a Hindu idol and told officers the pastor had done it in an effort to justify why they had vandalized his property, according to the church leader, Pastor Hidma Sodi. “A family that was hand-in-glove with the ones who brought the idol and broke it but blamed the Christians for the same has come to the Christian faith,” Pastor Sodi told Morning Star News. “They not only told us how this conspiracy was planned and executed to frame the Christians but are also willing to speak as witnesses before the court.” As the Christians had registered a complaint with police, the tribal animists then planned to assault the
STATEMENT
FIACONA WELCOMES THE USCIRF REPORT ON INDIA. April 25, 2022, Washington DC. The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations applauds the designation of India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for the 3rd consecutive year in its 2022 Report released today. India has been going through tumultuous upheavals caused by the rise of Hindu nationalism in recent years. The formation of a Union (Federal) government by Hindu nationalists in 2014 and their re-election in 2019 under Mr. Narendra Modi has seriously jeopardized the foundational framework for a functioning democracy in India. 2021 has been the most violent year on record for the Christians in India. The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) has documented an unprecedented 761 violent acts against Christians[i] in India by the groups directly affiliated to the Hindu nationalist Modi government. The attacks against other religious minorities in India have also gone up several-fold in the last 7 years. These attacks are motivated in part by the perceived protection provided for the attackers by the government officials. The Modi government has maintained an eerie silence against such attacks giving the impression that the government tacitly supports such attacks. While we are appreciative of
‘Never-Before-Seen Majoritarian Aggression’: English Editorials Call Out BJP-Aided Hatred
Almost all English newspaper editorials in the past three days have focused singularly on communal disharmony – some explicitly pivoting to Blinken's rebuke of India's human rights situation. 'Never-Before-Seen Majoritarian Aggression': English Editorials Call Out BJP-Aided Hatred A collage of English newspaper editorials on hatred and disharmony in India. New Delhi: A day ago, news that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said that the United States was monitoring “a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials,” was shared widely on social media. “We regularly engage with our Indian partners on these shared values (of human rights) and to that end, we are monitoring some recent concerning developments in India including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials,” Blinken said. News outlets recognised the fact that such a direct rebuke by the US was rare. Several pointed to current events that may have warranted such a comment, even though Blinken did not mention any. Almost all English newspaper editorials in the past three days have focused singularly on communal disharmony – some explicitly pivoting to the Blinken fallout while others have explored the policing of food and the act of policing itself. ‘A constant simmer’ Indian Express
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2022. Washington DC. The Federation of Indian American Christians Releases 2022 Report on India Documenting 761 cases of Violent Attacks. Asking Sec Blinken and Sec Austin not to Allow themselves be Blackmailed by their Indian Counterparts Today at 2+2 Meeting. Washington, D.C. Federation Indian Christian Associations of North America (FIACONA), an advocacy organization, representing a million Indian American Christians in the U.S., released its 2022 Report documenting 761 attacks against Christians in India. This report was released ahead of the soon-to-be-released report from the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF). India is becoming more and more prominent in America’s global engagement. Policymakers in the US Administration tend to blink first to demands from the Indian side that India’s domestic policies be ignored for cooperation on issues involving foreign policy like India’s cooperation on Ukraine issues. FIACONA asks that America stay firm and resist compromising on its principles and not allow it to be blackmailed by Indian officials meeting with Mr. Blinken and Mr. Austin today. The Report shows that all 761 attacks on Christians across India were carried out by the radical Hindu extremists affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government headed by Prime Minister Modi. The party’s objectives
